‘We’re aware he had many enemies:’ The Duolingo owl is dead
The world woke up to shocking news today: The Duolingo Owl is dead. I suspect fowl play. Get it? But alas, the beloved owl (who was named Duo?) is gone.
The language learning app created the owl as their mascot back in 2012 and he went on to become a TikTok super star. But as the company recognized in their post announcing the owl’s death, he had many enemies.
“It is with heavy hearts that we inform you that Duo, formally known as The Duolingo Owl, is dead,” the post reads. They go on to allege that the police are investigating his death. See! FOWL play! “Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death and we are cooperating fully. Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what do we know.”
At this point, we’re all suspects. The company said as much. Not me though, I keep forgetting to sign up for it so I did not forget to do my lesson because I forgot to sign up for the app itself. The rest of you? Watch out. “We’re aware he had many enemies, but we kindly ask that you refrain from sharing why you hate him in the comments. If you feel inclined to share, please also include your credit card number so we can automatically sign you up for Duolingo Max in his memory.”
The post signed off by saying that we should all respect Dua Lipa and I do agree there. “We appreciate you respecting Dua Lipa’s privacy at this time.”
Other famous icons, like the Aflac Duck, shared their condolences “Finishing the lesson in your honor.” But the best response to it comes from Discussing Film who were as blunt as possible.
Why must brands hurt us like this?
This is Mr. Peanut all over again. Remember when the peanut brand killed their mascot so a younger mascot could take over? They were ahead of The Substance obsession. But Duolingo killing off Duo does seem to be a bit darker than the peanut situation. Duo’s death seems to be dark and done with purpose and I do not like it.
We need to launch a docuseries into what happened to him! But in all seriousness, we do not know why the brand killed off Duo. Maybe they want to go in a new direction or maybe they just really wanted to shame their users for not doing their lesson. If anything, they should make Duo like a Tamagotchi so when we don’t do lessons, he doesn’t get fed and dies.
Maybe then people will log on every day as they are supposed to. For not, a memorial for Duo will be held in all our respective homes and we will listen to Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You” as we try (and fail) at learning French. If you didn’t figure it out in High School, you’re not going to figure it out as an adult. Sorry to say. But try for Duo’s memory.
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